More states and communities are allowing Sunday liquor and alcohol sales or moving sales start times to as early as 6 a.m.
Since 2002, 14 states have joined the list of states allowing Sunday sales of distilled spirits, bringing the total to 36, says Lisa Hawkins of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
"Blue laws ... simply don't make sense in today's economy. They inconvenience consumers and deprive states of much-needed tax revenue," she says.
David Laband, an Auburn University economist, says laws limiting Sunday activities began to disappear when many women joined the labor force in the past century. They often are repealed in economic downturns when governments "experience a revenue pinch," he says.
Bruce Beckman, a Downers Grove, Ill., Village Council member, last month voted against allowing establishments that serve food to sell liquor at 9 a.m. Sundays instead of noon. It passed, 4-3.
The "relatively small amount of tax revenue this might generate," he says, isn't as important as using Sunday mornings "for family, going to church ... and not sitting in a bar somewhere."
Carthage, Mo., Mayor Mike Harris last month voted to allow alcohol sales at 9 a.m. Sundays instead of 1 p.m., but he says blue laws "made Sunday more relevant where faith is concerned."
Sunday Alcohol Sales on the Rise in U.S. - ABC News
No comments:
Post a Comment